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The Working Class Republican

Page 37

by Henry Olsen


  government shut-down and, 232

  as New Deal Democrat, 244

  reelection (1996), 233

  Reinventing Government initiative, 232

  State of the Union address (1995), 232

  Clinton, Hillary, 254, 255

  popular vote and, 254

  Rising American Electorate and, 254

  Cold War, 88–89, 160, 198, 223

  Collins, Susan, 298n116, 310n73

  communism, Communist Party

  American working-class and, 114

  Catholics as anti-communist, 24

  conservative anti-communism, 69

  government as the solution to social problems, 47, 87, 211

  in Hollywood, xii, 2, 17, 21

  Marshall Plan and, 16

  Nixon-Khrushchev debate, 45

  Orwell’s description of, 26

  Reagan’s anti-communism, xix, 17, 21, 30–33, 37, 45, 47, 48, 56, 115, 130, 148, 177–78, 205

  Reagan’s fight against, as president, 116, 198–200, 205

  Reagan’s partisan shift and, 18

  spying in the U.S., 36

  state power and, 26

  as threat to freedom, 53

  See also Soviet Union

  Conference of Studio Unions (CSU), 31–32

  Connally, John, 171–72, 201

  Conscience of a Conservative, The (Goldwater), xiv, 27, 54, 69, 72, 110, 112, 131, 154, 217, 259

  conscription (military draft), 141

  Conservative Digest, 201

  Conservative League of Minneapolis, “Losing Freedom by Installments” (Reagan speech, early 1960s), 47, 89, 211–12

  Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)

  Reagan’s 1977 speech, vision for the “New Republican Party,” 130, 132–34, 152–58, 166

  Reagan’s nine principles, 132–33

  Reagan speech to ninth meeting of, 208

  conservatives, conservatism, ix, 42–43

  anti-Eisenhower movement, 217

  antigovernment positions, 118, 130, 218, 234, 249

  as anti-New Dealers, 25–26

  appeal to the average American and, 230

  branding problem (seen as caring about money more than people), 228–29, 230, 232, 237

  Buckley and National Review, 25–27, 43, 46, 90

  George W. Bush and, 134, 250

  in California, ix, xv, 77, 101–101, 109, 111, 124, 126

  civil rights legislation and, 78, 79, 109–12

  constitutionalists, 39, 44, 74, 85

  core ideas of, ix, 26, 27, 40, 69, 85, 155–56, 247

  Cruz and, 249–50

  entitlements and, 267

  “establishment” variety, xviii

  fusionism, 69

  Goldwater and Goldwaterites, 19, 43, 69, 101, 110, 111, 142, 162, 210, 234

  ideology and, 154, 157, 158

  Knowland and, 43

  libertarianism and, xv, 135–41

  majority of Americans as, 153

  in mid-to late 1950s, 27

  neoconservatives, 162

  neolibertarianism and, 69

  New Deal social guarantees and, 134

  New Deal’s principles and, 23, 69

  opposition to Modern Republicanism, 46

  radical change and, 232

  Reagan and, xviii, xx, 19–52, 126–27, 250, 263–64

  Reagan misunderstood by, xviii, 2–3, 218, 228, 229, 232, 237, 260–62

  Reagan’s conservatism versus Goldwater’s, 54–70

  Reagan’s critics among, xvii, 103–4, 109–13, 156, 177, 187, 188, 200–201, 202

  Reagan’s influence on, 69

  Reagan’s legacy and, 230

  Reagan’s popularity with, 126

  Reagan’s “The New Republican Party” speech and, 130, 132–34, 152–58

  Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” speech and, 54

  Reagan’s unique brand of (New Deal conservatism), xiv, xvii, xviii, 1, 3, 19–52, 54–70, 72, 82, 83, 113, 114, 115, 118, 130–33, 166, 169–70, 200, 259

  RINOs opposed by, 109

  Romney and, 250

  on social welfare programs, 40, 41, 86, 104, 111, 124, 262

  on states’ rights, 44

  Stockman’s book and, 217

  Tea Party variety of, xviii, 44, 240, 241, 249, 307n22

  Trump and, 225, 256

  “ultraconservatives,” xv, 11, 109, 131, 154, 200, 201, 260, 291n3

  unpopularity of, 228

  “win one for the Gipper” and, 19, 103

  See also Christian Right

  Cordiner, Ralph, 35, 120

  Crane, Phil, 131, 171, 201

  Creative Society, xiv–xv, 72, 83–92, 146

  three central concepts of, 84

  crime, xiv, 80, 91

  Cruz, Ted, xviii, 249–50, 252, 259–61, 294n34

  “culture wars,” 165–66

  Czechoslovakia, 117, 223

  Dart, Justin, 18

  d’Aubuisson, Roberto, 116

  defense spending, 133, 134, 164, 191, 204

  de Havilland, Olivia, 31

  Democratic Party

  American South and, 24–25, 181, 233

  anti-communism and, 32, 161

  base of, 181

  big government and, xiii, xiv, 45, 156, 165, 262

  black voters and, 24

  civil rights policies, 25

  comeback, early 1990s, xvii

  commitment to a “fairer distribution of wealth, income, and power,” 171

  competing philosophies (Truman’s versus Wallace’s), 15–17, 18, 32, 50, 143, 161, 209, 228, 230, 258

  disenchanted members, 209–10

  dominance of American politics, 132, 152

  FDR and JFK and, 227

  Hispanic voters and, 247

  Irish immigrants voting for, xi

  Jefferson abandoned by, 15

  Kennedy’s fiscal policy and, 50

  labor union support for, 42

  liberalism and, ix, 15, 50–51 (see also liberals, liberalism)

  midterm losses, 1966, xiv

  midterm losses, 2010, 240–41

  midterm losses, 2014, 251

  moderates of, 236–37

  National Convention, 1932, 299n12

  National Convention, 1936, 9

  National Convention, 1968, 116–17

  National Convention, 1972, 134

  National Convention, 2004, 237–38

  “national economic planning” and, 170–71

  New Democrats, 231

  New Left, 32

  as “party of the people,” 11

  platform, 1948, 16, 17, 277n65

  policies admired by Reagan, xi

  presidential election, 1932, 1

  presidential election, 1936, 8–9, 212

  presidential election, 1940, 10

  presidential election, 1956, 23

  presidential election, 1964, 73, 274n12

  presidential election, 1972, 32, 116, 161, 162

  presidential election, 1976, 152, 161–62

  presidential election, 1980, 180, 181

  presidential election, 1984, 208–9, 212

  presidential election, 1992, 231

  presidential election, 1996, 233

  presidential election, 2000, 233–34

  presidential election, 2004, 235

  presidential election, 2008, 238–39, 274n12

  presidential election, 2012, 245–46, 274n12

  presidential election, 2016, 255–56

  Progressive philosophy and, 48, 50, 134, 146, 228, 247, 251, 257

  Reagan and, 1, 2, 14, 17, 22, 29, 30, 33, 113, 150

  Reagan considered as a congressional candidate by, 2, 30

  Reagan Democrats, xx, 18, 180–82, 230, 231, 234, 254

  Reagan leaves a changing party, xii, xiii, 3, 4, 15, 18, 19–52, 209, 274n13

  Reagan’s criticism of, 171

  Reagan’s parents and, 4, 274n13

  Reagan wooing disaffected New Dealers, 174–76
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br />   Republicans outnumbered by, 228

  Rising American Electorate and, 246, 247, 251, 254

  socialism and, xii, 15–16

  Soviet Union and, 36, 161–62

  working-class voters and, xii, 8–9, 113–14, 162, 231, 247

  See also Roosevelt, Franklin Delano; Truman, Harry; specific presidents

  Dewey, Thomas, 18, 143

  Diem, Ngo Dinh, 115

  Dixon, IL, 4

  Dole, Bob, 233

  Douglas, Helen Gahagan, 2, 30

  Duarte, Jose Napoleon, 116, 200

  Dukakis, Michael, 230

  Dunckel, Earl, 34

  East Germany, 223

  Economic Bill of Rights (Roosevelt), 10, 16

  Economic Club of Chicago, Reagan speech (September, 1975), 141–44, 147, 292n15

  economy

  auto industry, 196–97, 212

  bad year of 1974 for, 126

  Democratic socialism and, 15–16

  Democrats, liberals and national economic planning, 49, 146, 170–71

  FDR and, xviii, 196

  free market, 16, 17, 133, 134

  GDP, 5–6

  GDP during Reagan’s terms, 206

  government’s regulatory powers and, xv, 9, 35, 49

  Great Depression, 5–7, 11

  inflation, 17, 33, 49, 56, 109, 132, 134, 149, 150, 163, 185, 190, 200, 206, 213, 293n33

  interest rates, 190

  Kennedy’s fiscal policy and, 50

  manufacturing and, 41–42

  New Deal and, 6

  Reagan and, xviii–xix, 17, 40, 49, 56, 172, 185–87, 193–94, 214, 260–61, 265

  Reagan and growth of, 185–86

  Reagan criticized for “voodoo economics,” 172

  Reagan on the average person as driver of, 195–96

  Reagan’s conservative principles and, 133–34

  Reagan’s presidential candidacy and, 170

  Reagan’s recovery plan, 190–91, 193–94

  recession (1982), 200

  recession (2008), 239, 243

  recession and Gulf War, 185

  stagflation, 170

  “Staunch Conservatives” versus “Disaffecteds,” 243

  supply-side economics, xviii–xix, 187, 192–95, 200, 214

  trickle-down theory, 193, 195, 299n12

  Truman’s versus Wallace’s vision for, 16

  unemployment, 190, 200, 206, 243

  War Production Board and, 10, 15–16

  White’s description of Democrat versus Republican views (1960), 50–51

  See also trade

  education

  academic freedom, 41

  in California, 40, 95, 96, 103, 105–6, 124

  Eisenhower’s programs, 23, 27

  GI Bill, xiii, 16

  government aid to, 5, 23, 27, 46, 48, 143

  libertarianism and, 137

  Modern Republicanism and, 40

  National Defense Education Act, 23, 27

  New Deal and, 40

  public universities, xiii, 5, 40–41, 143

  Reagan and the government’s role in, xv, 39, 40–41, 88, 91, 100, 137, 141, 166

  Reagan on “free” college, 106

  Reagan’s criticism of bureaucracy and, 144–45

  Reagan’s Eureka College commencement address (1957), 40–41, 137

  school breakfasts and lunches, 191

  “Education of David Stockman, The” (Greider), 192–93

  Edwards, Anne, 273n7, 274n13

  Eisenhower, Dwight D., 39, 161

  American South and, 24, 25

  asked to run as a Democrat, 22

  Buckley’s refusal to support, 26–27, 69, 177

  civil rights legislation and, 25

  critics of “dime store New Deal,” 26

  Democrats for Eisenhower, 23–24

  Goldwater criticism of, 27, 72

  integration and, 112

  Interstate Highway System and, 23

  Mandate for Change, 23

  Modern Republicanism and, 51, 72

  New Deal programs expanded by, 21, 23, 27

  New Deal’s principles and, 23, 25

  popular vote and, 23

  Reagan’s support for, xiii, 2, 22–23, 27

  reelection (1956), 23, 43

  Soviet launch of Sputnik and, 27

  Warren appointment, 95

  working-class support for, xiii, 22

  El Salvador, Reagan’s policies on, 116, 198, 200

  Emanuel, Rahm, 239

  Emerging Democratic Majority, The (Teixeira and Judis), 246–47

  employment

  discrimination in, 5

  FDR’s aim of work for everyone, 13

  GE’s “enlightened management-labor relations,” 43–44

  Great Depression and, 5

  job-training programs, 5

  minimum wage, 13

  “right-to-work” laws, 42–43, 83, 164, 294–95n57

  Taft-Hartley Act and, 42

  Wagner Act and, 9, 13, 42

  workman’s compensation insurance, 96

  workplace safety and injury compensation laws, xii

  See also labor unions

  energy

  Arab oil embargo (1970s), 126, 197

  Ford and, 149

  programs, 142, 191

  Reagan and, 170

  entitlements. See Medicaid; Medicare; Social Security; social welfare programs

  environmental issues, 5

  Obama and, 251

  Reagan’s policies on, 100, 115, 121, 123, 124–25, 127, 289n53

  TRPA, CARB, and Reagan, 119–20

  Equal Rights Amendment, 166, 172

  Ernst, Joni, 310n73

  Eureka College, 276n40

  Reagan at, 12, 78, 283n47

  Reagan commencement address (1957), 40–41, 88–89, 137

  Export-Import Bank, 191, 266

  farm programs, 46, 48, 142, 216, 266, 303n76

  Federal Housing Administration (FHA), xiii, 9

  Federalist number 51, 86

  Federalist Society, ix

  Fiorina, Carly, 294n34

  Firing Line (TV show), 90, 286n52

  Florida, elections and, 142, 147, 234, 238, 240, 246, 248, 254

  Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 136

  food stamps program, 73, 89, 144, 165, 191, 289n67

  Ford, Gerald, 126, 132, 142, 293n31

  energy policy, 149

  Panama Canal Treaty and, 148, 150

  as part of the “Washington Establishment,” 149

  policy of détente with the Soviets, 148, 150

  primary fight with Reagan (1976), 147–51

  Reagan’s attacks on, 149, 150

  votes for, compared to Reagan, 181–82

  “WIN” (Whip Inflation Now), 149, 293n33

  foreign policy

  Carter administration and, 160, 162

  Ford administration and the Soviet Union, 148

  liberals and, 47

  libertarians on international engagement, 139

  Marshall Plan, 16

  ownership of the Panama Canal, 148, 150

  progressives and, 16–17

  Reagan and protecting/extending freedom, 50, 164

  Reagan on, early 1960s, 47

  Reagan’s Conservative League of Minneapolis speech and, 47

  Reagan’s conservative principles and, 133, 134

  Reagan’s opposition to the Soviet Union, 32, 36, 47, 140–41, 159, 186

  Reagan’s presidency and, 116, 186, 191, 197–200, 204, 205, 209, 213, 221

  Reagan’s presidential bid (1976) and, 148

  in Reagan’s radio addresses, late 1970s, 159–60

  Republican Party and, 157

  Truman administration and, 161

  Truman’s Democrats and, 47

  Vietnam War, 114–15, 140–41

  “forgotten American”

  FDR, the New Deal, and, xii, 6, 12, 68–69, 276n42

  Goldwater mocking of the common man,
68

  Reagan and, 12, 68, 69, 207, 209, 229

  Trump and, xix

  Founding Fathers, 210

  “government is beholden to the people” and, 56

  Reagan’s views on, 44, 146

  Fountainhead, The (Rand), 291–92n11

  freedom

  academic freedom, 41

  FDR’s views of what threatens, 3, 6

  government planning and control as threat to, 164

  Hoover’s opposition to social insurance and, 6

  libertarianism and, 70, 135

  protecting by getting involved in government, 54

  Reagan and opposition to laws circumscribing liberty, 108, 166

  Reagan’s British Parliament speech (June, 1982) on, 203–4, 214, 221

  Reagan’s core principles on freedom of the individual, 14, 41, 56, 85, 88, 92, 130, 210, 291–92n11

  Reagan’s foreign policy and, 50, 164

  Reagan’s “Losing Freedom by Installments” (early 1960s), 47, 89, 211–12

  Reagan’s views of what threatens, 13, 26, 35, 36, 37, 38, 78–79, 145, 146

  Reagan warns of assault on, by communism and liberals, 53

  sin laws and, 140

  free speech, 81, 114

  Fulbright, J. William, 49

  fusionism, 69

  Gann, Paul, 125

  Geithner, Timothy, 239

  General Electric (GE)

  “corporate citizenship” approach to labor-management relations, 43–44

  decentralized business organization of, 35–36

  Reagan’s conservatism and, 21, 34–36, 43

  Reagan’s speeches for, xiii, 27, 34–35

  workers at, 35–36

  General Electric Theater (TV show), 27

  GI Bill, xiii, 16

  Gingrich, Newt, 231–32, 301n49, 307n29

  Glass-Steagall Act, 9

  Goldwater, Barry, 75, 86, 274n12

  American South and, 25, 78

  antigovernment positions, 118, 131, 218

  in California, 77

  California conservatives and, 101, 110, 111

  civil rights legislation opposed by, 78, 79, 112

  “Compact of Fifth Avenue” opposed, 46

  The Conscience of a Conservative, xiv, 27, 54, 69, 72, 73, 110, 112, 127, 131, 154, 217, 259

  conservatism compared to Reagan’s, xiv, 3, 54–70, 82, 95, 132, 133, 137, 228

  conservative principles of, 54–55, 83, 90

  Democrats attempt to “Goldwaterize” Reagan, xvi, 82–83

  Democrat tactics against, 59

  as Eisenhower critic, 27, 72

  “extremism in defense of liberty is no vice,” 51, 68

  GOP convention fight (1964) and, 51

  on government spending, 147

  hyperindividualistic creed, xiv

  as ideological fanatic, 154

  importance of the uncommon individual, 196

  Johnson’s “Daisy ad” against, 59, 92

  landslide defeat of 1964, 19, 55, 118, 125, 207, 238

  Nixon and, 117

 

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